This application claims the priority of German Application No. 196 05 999.2, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to the contacting system for a flat antenna conductor structure and, more particularly, to a contacting system for a flat antenna conductor structure which is integrated in a vehicle installation part, particularly a vehicle window, having at least one first contacting device which is arranged on the vehicle installation part and is connected with the antenna conductor structure, and at least one contact base with at least one second contacting device which is provided on the vehicle body side. The contacting of the respective first contacting device by means of the corresponding second contacting device takes place during a relative movement between the vehicle installation part and the contact base occurring during the installation.
A contacting system of the above-mentioned type is known from German Patent document DE 36 04 437, wherein an electric conductor of a motor vehicle window contacts a connection line extending in the vehicle. The contacting system of the above-mentioned type comprises a first contacting device which is arranged on the motor vehicle window and is connected with a line structure. In addition, a contact base is provided on the vehicle body side which has at least one second contacting device. The contacting of the respective first contacting device by means of the corresponding second contacting device takes place in the course of the installation during a relative movement between the installation part of the vehicle and the contact base.
German Patent document DE 35 23 228 C1 also describes a contacting system of an electric conductor of a motor vehicle window with a connection line extending in the motor vehicle. In this case, the contacting takes place by a relative movement during the installation.
In the case of the objects of the above known systems, it is considered to be disadvantageous that, because of the undefined position of the electric connection lines, the tolerance zone of the antenna impedance is enlarged. This results in a more serious impedance.
From German Patent document DE 42 32 746 C2, a contacting system of a flat antenna conductor structure is known which consists of a contact element and a contact point arranged on the antenna conductor structure. The contact element is formed of a metal strip having a connection lug. The metal strip is embedded in a flat carrier made of an electrically insulating plastic material. In this case, the connection lug is exposed and the metal strip is connected inside the carrier with an electric connection line. The electric connection line is led out of the carrier and is equipped at its free end for the connection to a sleeve or to a plug. The connection lug is connected in an electrically conducting manner with the contact point, particularly by means of soldering or spot welding.
In this case, a disadvantage is that an additional operation is required for contacting the connection lug by means of the contact point. In addition, because of the undefined position of the electric connection lines, the tolerance zone of the antenna impedance is enlarged and will result in a more serious mismatch.
From German Patent document DE 41 25 999 C1, a contact element is known for providing a resilient contact by means of two contact points which are mounted on the interior pane sides of a double glass pane. In this case, the contact element may have different geometrical configurations.
However, German Patent document DE 41 25 999 C1 does not disclose a solution for the problem of contacting a flat antenna conductor structure by means of an electric connection line, and the line routing, in order to transmit an antenna signal from a flat antenna conductor structure to a signal processing circuit.
There is therefore needed a contacting system of a flat antenna conductor structure of the above-mentioned type such that a simplified installation is possible, and the electric connection from an antenna conductor structure to a pertaining signal processing circuit is implemented in an impedance-matching construction method.
According to the invention, these needs are met by a contacting system for a flat antenna conductor structure which is integrated in a vehicle installation part, particularly a vehicle window, having at least one first contacting device which is arranged on the vehicle installation part and is connected with the antenna conductor structure, and at least one contact base with at least one second contacting device which is provided on the vehicle body side. The contacting of the respective first contacting device by means of the corresponding second contacting device takes place during a relative movement between the vehicle installation part and the contact base occurring during the installation. At least one electric connection line, at least one signal processing circuit and at least one carrier are provided. At least the contact base is an integral component of the carrier. The at least one electric connection line connects the respective second contacting device with the corresponding signal processing circuit. For the defined impedance-adapting line routing, the at least one electric connection line is arranged in a defined manner along its whole length on the corresponding carrier.
According to the invention, an electric connection is established between a flat antenna conductor structure, which is integrated in an installation part of the vehicle, particularly in a vehicle window, and a pertaining electric signal processing circuit by the contacting of at least one first contacting device, which is arranged on the vehicle installation part and is connected with the antenna conductor structure, by means of at least one corresponding second contacting device which, on the vehicle body side, is arranged on a contact base and is connected with an electric connection line. By means of the arrangement of the second contacting device on the contact base, a defined installed position is achieved. In this case, the contacting takes place by a relative movement between the vehicle installation part and the contact base during the installation. In this case, the relative movement is carried out, on the one hand, when the contact base is already installed, by means of the vehicle installation part, for example, by a fitting-on, and, on the other hand, when the vehicle installation part is already installed, by means of the contact base, for example, by a plugging-on.
In the simplest embodiment, the electric signal processing circuit is constructed as a socket.
According to an advantageous further development of the invention, the first contacting device is constructed as a contact surface and is part of the antenna conductor structure. The second contacting device is constructed as a spring element and is arranged on the contact base. In this case, an electric connection between the second contacting device and the signal processing circuit is established via the electric connection line which is connected with the second contacting device, for example, by soldering or spot welding.
In this embodiment of the invention, it is almost impossible to damage the first contacting device during transportation of the installation parts of the vehicle.
However, in principle, other embodiments are also possible. Thus, for example, the first contacting device can be constructed as a spring element and the second contacting device can be constructed as a contact surface. Alternatively, both contacting devices can be constructed as spring elements in order to avoid contact problems and to compensate for manufacturing tolerances.
In the present invention, the electric connection line is arranged on a carrier. This results in a defined spatial position and a predetermined length for the electric connection line, whereby the tolerance zone of the impedance is reduced and a larger distance can be implemented between the signal processing circuit and the flat antenna conductor structure. The carrier, which is connected with the housing of the signal processing circuit, is formed of the contact base and a contact arm.
Different embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the invention. Thus, the invention can also be used for contacting flat antenna conductor structures which are integrated in other installation parts of the vehicle, such as lights, plastic parts or other subassemblies.
Furthermore, the carrier can be a fixed component of the housing of the signal processing circuit and can simultaneously be used for fastening the housing. As required, several carriers can be used. In addition, the contact arm may be molded to the contact base so that the carrier is constructed as a compact component.
For avoiding adhesive contact, a protective strip, which can simultaneously be used as a spacing buffer, can be molded to the contact base.
The electric connection line can be constructed, for example, as a stranded wire, a coaxial cable, a sheet metal strip, strip conductors embedded in foil, or as a flexible conduction band.
For the Z-adaptation (impedance-adaptation) and the Z-transformation (impedance-transformation), the construction of the electric connection line as a strip line is particularly advantageous. In this case, the substrate of the strip line can be formed by the carrier, or the carrier can be used only for fastening and routing the electric connection line.
In addition, it is possible to construct the contact arm as a UHF antenna or higher-frequency antenna without the requirement of an antenna line structure on a vehicle installation part.
In another advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the electric connection line and the electric signal processing circuit are arranged on the carrier in a defined manner. In this case, several electric connection lines for several antenna conductor structures can be arranged on a carrier, in which case the electric signal processing circuits for the different antenna conductor structures can be combined in an electric signal processing circuit. In this embodiment, the carrier is arranged inside the housing of the signal processing circuit. In the housing of the signal processing circuit, passage openings are provided through which the second contacting devices can be contacted by the first contacting devices on the vehicle during the installation. In this embodiment, the electric signal processing circuit can be arranged in the direct proximity of the antenna conductor structure. The spring elements, by which the electric connection is established between the antenna conductor structures and the corresponding electric connection lines, can be constructed as electrically conducting elastomers. By the use of electrically conducting elastomers, microfriction occurring between the first and the second contacting devices is almost avoided, said microfriction occurring as a result of movements between the vehicle installation part and the vehicle body during the vehicle operation. Particularly in the case of amplitude-modulated signals, the microfriction results in excessive signal interferences. The described embodiment is particularly suitable for contacting several different antenna conductor structures integrated in a vehicle installation part.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.